A universal icon | The weekly country

Kobe Bryant scored for 20 years at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and their baskets were held from Italy to China, through the Philippines, Cameroon or Australia. Produced and starred Dear Basketball, short film for which he won an Oscar, and wrote a book, Mamba mentality. The secrets of my success, in which he reflected the ideology of his extraordinary career. The shock wave caused by his death in the helicopter crash in which his daughter Gianna and seven other people also lost their lives made it clear how far his legacy went far beyond records and awards. That foggy and fateful morning on January 26 left the world the orphan of a sports icon, a 41-year-old budding entrepreneur, and a role model to many for his relentless work ethic.

Michael Jordan changed the dimension of the NBA and was one of the first athletes to make an impact around the world thanks to his successes on the court, in advertising and in business, enhanced after retiring as a player in March 2003. Kobe skipped the forced passage through the University and arrived at the League in 1996, with 18 years just turned, at the height of the dynasty of the Bulls of Jordan. A conjunction of factors allowed him to project his image like no other had done before. After the impact of the Dream Team in Barcelona 92 ​​and the successes of Jordan, the NBA, under the directives of its commissioner David Stern, redoubled its efforts in its international expansion. Kobe’s aura grew as the perfect storm to popularize his image was brewing thanks to the launch and development of Facebook in 2004, YouTube in 2005, Twitter in 2006, the arrival of the NBA in China in 2008, that of Weibo in 2009 and Instagram in 2010.

“It came of age almost at the exact moment we became a digital League,” notes League Commissioner Adam Silver. And Kobe embraced everything digital. In China, he realized that he could be virtually present throughout the world, to become universal. ” Yao Ming, the 2.29-meter Chinese center, and Dirk Nowitzki, the 2.13-meter German power forward, expanded from Houston and Dallas the international impact of the NBA in the early years of the century. The image of Kobe, cared for and promoted by the NBA and Nike, expanded in China, particularly on the occasion of the Beijing Olympics in 2008. The opening ceremony gave an idea of ​​the phenomenon. Kobe, during the inaugural parade, was besieged by dozens of the best athletes in the world who asked him for autographs and to be photographed together. He led the United States team that won the gold medals in Beijing 2008 and London 2012 in two unforgettable finals against Spain.

His origins and his upbringing fit perfectly into the ideal model for the goal pursued by the NBA. His father, Joe Bryant, had played seven years in Italy, where Kobe grew up. For many Italians it was from Reggio Emilia, not from Philadelphia. “He was the most traveled player of the time,” describes Adam Silver. He visited China 22 times in 20 years and was named a global ambassador for the 2019 Basketball World Cup that was held in the Asian country and won by Spain. It was an advertising claim for many multinationals and starred in an airline advertisement with Leo Messi. He entered the business world and in 2013 he co-founded the venture capital firm Bryant Stibel & Co .; in 2016, the production company Granity Studios, and in 2018, the Mamba Academy, where she supported women’s sports.

Jeanie Buss, the owner of the Lakers, on the December day of 2017 when the jerseys with the numbers 8 and 24 that Kobe wore during the 20 years of loyalty to the same team and with which he won five NBA titles were retired, He summarized: “We asked you to fight and you gave us your heart and showed us how to win. Go if you left a mark! Your legacy goes beyond basketball. “

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